We entered the tram and Brandi put as many bodies between me and her as she could manage. I found myself to the side of the tram, standing among a group of witches with Cassie and Gaven in front of me. They were looking over a heavy book, but were too far away to make out exactly what they were discussing. Whatever it was, they were being very quiet about it. With nothing else to do, I made my way to a window so I at least had something to look at.

The whole car swung from side to side as the stablizers released in a series of loud bangs. The cable sounded like a whip as it took on the weight of the car completely and the tram slid a few feet before the brakes took hold and slowed our decent into the clouds. As soon as we were below the lip of the station, the winds buffered the car and shook it. I had to grab hold of a handle on the wall to keep standing up right while veryone else rocked with the motion without losing a bit of their balance.

A radio squawked once and then a mechanical voice came over. “Decending to floor five, Underground Forest. Please make sure all items are secure. Winds are between thirty and forty miles per hour in the main chasm. All are advised to be attached or at the very least, to make use of the handles provided throughout the car. Temperatures are between 5 degrees fahrenheit and -15 degrees fahrenheit in the chasm. Cloaks or other means of warmth are highly advised. Thank you. The Orange Academy wishes you the greatest of success on your mission.”

“Great, knew today would be a bad one,” a mage said, he was one of the few in the car. The girls around him made murmurs of agreement as they moved and took hold of the handles. “Make sure you all hold on.”

The tram shuttered as we dipped beneath the clouds, For a good two minutes it looked like we had been encased by snow as flakes and droplets of ice smacked against the window panes. The air temperature in the cabin dropped so quickly that I didn’t register the change until after my breath started to cloud in front of me. I shivered and pulled the cloak around me as tight as I could. My teeth started to chatter and exposed skin felt like it had caught on fire. A few seconds later something bumped into me from behind and I turned to find Brandi shivering.

Without a word I opened my cloak and she rushed in, slamming against my chest as her arms went around me. I pulled the cloak tight around us while she shivered. The cold on her cloak melted away after a few seconds. I looked down to find her face buried in my chest, little white puffs coming from her shivering breath.

“Guess I still have some use,” I said and she squeezed me a bit tighter.

“You know, they say being naked beneath a blanket together keeps you warmer,” Amber said as she drifted over to us and leaned against the wall beside me. “And three bodies are better than two.”

“Fuck off, this is mine,” Brandi said in a muffled voice which earned a grin from Amber.

“All right, all right, just know that you’re missing out on a super soft and warm tail.”

Brandi didn’t answer and instead tried to snuggle in closer for more warmth.

Amber shrugged and turned to face the window, a bored epxression on her face that made it seem like she considered this routine. Maybe she did. The Wilkit came from the abyss as did many other none human creatures. You couldn’t call them creatures of course, but that was the way I was taught and how I thought about their nature growing up. Creatures from the abyss and not at all human. But, watching the fox girl stare out the window with her golden eyes half hooded and lazily searching the clouds, I had a hard time thinking of her as anything but a human girl.

“What’s your deal?” I asked and she turned her head, a brow cocked in question. “I mean, should you really be here? You aren’t bonded which makes it more dangerous for you.”

She turned completely to me, her tail waving back and forth in what I could only call amusement. “Are you worried about me? Aw, and we’ve only know each other for less than an hour. It’s because of the bath, isn’t it? You did like what you saw.”

“No,” I said and she pouted, her ears dropping down flat on her head. She faced the window again.

“Man, you’re so serious all the time. How does that witch of yours deal with you?” Her breath came out in a milky cloud and fogged up the window.

“I deal with him just fine,” Brandi said as she turned to look out and glared at Amber.

“Oh, look at the little rabbit all bundled up.”

“Again, what’s your deal?” I said and Amber pressed her lips together and canted her head to one side.

“I’m the contact for the group. We’re heading into part of the forest that I hail from and my people… we’re under constant attack from the beasts of the forest because we’re the only ones that grow the spice used during the Souls Day celebrations and on expeditions. So, to get in without having to kill everyone, I’m here to make sure things go smoothly.” She turned and motioned to the others in the tram with her hand. “All of this is to protect the harvest.”

“The spice comes from the abyss?” I asked and she gave a small nod. The spice was used in rituals during the Souls festival where using it could allow you to speak to past family memembers. It was all bullshit though, an excuse to get high. It really became popular because of the aphrodisiac properties of the subtance which no one talked about. The only other use I read about was drawing in creatures of the abyss to be captured.

“Of course, where else would a thing like that come from?” Brandi said.

“Don’t know, thought it was just made in the city. Bunch of junk, anyway.” They both glared at me and I felt like I was about to be pounced on. “What?”

“I’m rethinking my offer,” Amber said.

“I’m rethinking everything about us,” Brandi said and pulled away.

“Come on, you two can’t be serious.”

“The spice has been grown in my village since your city was only a speck on the rock. The spices allows us to speak to our ancestors and learn their knowledge and to help create a stronger bond among the tribe. How could you call such a thing junk?” Amber asked. The tram car grew even colder, but I wasn’t sure it came from the outside.

“Well it’s never worked for me, so I don’t know what to tell you.”

Amber regarded me for a moment, her face softening. “The spice is affect by the power of one’s magic. That you can’t see anyhting could possibly be due to your magic being veiled.”

“Uh huh, or it’s a bunch of junk. Doesn’t matter to me really. So, this is a defense mission?”

Amber sneered. “It’s a peace mission. Yes, we are protecting the harvest, but we are also here to offer help to the Wilkit in anyway they ask for the next four days.”

I cursed in my head. “Must’ve missed the timeline, I though it was just for the day. We’re gonna freeze down here.”

“Did you not pay any attention in class?” Brandi asked, her voice muffled beneath my cloak. “Only the shaft of the abyss has dangerous weather. The actual tiers are fairly mild, especially the fifth floor.”

I racked my brain as what she said itched a memory. “The orange sun?”

“Oh, hey, it seems like you’re not completely dumb,” Amber said.

“Oh, sorry that I didn’t instantly remember every gods damned thing I’ve read,” I said. They were both starting to draw on my last nerve.

“Touchy, aren’t we?” Amber said. “Take it easy, was only teasing here, pup.”

“Pup?” I asked in suprise and annoyance. She came up and patted my cheek.

“A cute pup,” she said in a low voice and moved closer. Our lips would have touched, but Cassie yelled out for Amber at the last moment. She gave a frown, her golden eyes narrowed as she stared past me. “Man, this day is just full of disappointments.”

She stepped back and with a wink, she pushed her way through the crowd and toward the front of the tram.

I watched her go until I realized that Brandi was still snuggled up against me and still unhappy. Her nails were digging into my back.

“What?” I asked and felt her shrug. “No, go and say it cause otherwise you’re just gonna be angry for the rest of the day.”

“Oh, I’m not mad. Just surprised you’d let an unknown dog almost lick your lips.”

“She isn’t… forget it.” I looked out the window and saw the stone wall started to bend inward until it made the mouth of a cave that was about the size of the academy. The top of the cave curved and had spikes of rock hanging from it. It really did look like a mouth and with the orange light that shined from inside, it didn’t look that inviting.

The tram slowed as we neared the port that jutted out over the abyss. It was covered in a fine layer of snow and icicles as long as my arm hung from the edges. With a loud thunk, the tram came to a rocky stop and a moment later the same voice as before came over the speaker.

“Fifth level, Underground Forest. Please disembark in an orderly fashion and await further orders. Do not proceed from the port until told to do so.”

The rest of the team began to file out and I fell in step with them with Brandi right behind. The chill bit into us as we stepped out and the only saving grace was the odd, fleeting wind of warmth that came from the cave.

There was also some warmth coming from being in the group, our body heat and breathing was just enough to keep the cold from burning through us. We started to pack closer to each other and somehow I found myself on the outer edge, facing the entrace to the cave.

A cluster of silhouettes stood at the entrance, the orange light an errie backdrop. Cassie and Gaven broke off from the group and made their way over and no one else followed.

“Hey,” Amber said as she pushed in beside me. “Want to meet my parents? I mean, if we’re gonna be bonded, it’s only fair, right?”

“Who said we’re gonna be bonded? I said I’d think about it.”

She waved me off. “Psh, there is no way you’re turning this down. Not only do you think I’m cute, but you need witches like a starving Velmut needs to murder whatever it can get its vines on.”

“What the hell is a Velmut?”

“Something you don’t ever want to get tangled in,” she said and grabbed my hand. In the next moment she turned and shoved her hand into the group. She pulled Brandi from it like a rabbit from a bush. “Come on, Satur, can’t leave you behind.”

She practically dragged us across the port and to where Cassie stood. The black haired woman turned with a start and cocked her head at us. “Did you miss the message on the tram?”

“Wasn’t our idea,” I said and pointed toward Amber who had ignored Cassie completely and left us to meet up with two Wilkits at the entrance to the cave. She drew them both into a tight hug while laughing and talking quickly in a language I couldn’t understand.

The sight pulled at something in my chest, a pain that started deep in my core and moved as heat up my back. There was something about watching her with her parents that remidned me that I was all alone and had been forever. She turned back and seemed to realize that she had left us and, with a wide grin, she waved us over. I looked to Cassie who had been watching with a frown.

“I have no idea what she’s planning, but we’re here to help and keep relations. Go and be good. If you start an incident I will toss you into the abyss myself.”

“Wanna do it now? Would probably save us all some trouble,” Brandi said.

I kept my mouth shut and pulled her with me. Amber met us halfway, more hopping than walking. “So, play along. I told them that you’re gonna be my mage. I know it’s not offical, but they were worried I’d never find one worthy of me.”

“Worthy of you?” I asked

“Oh, you know parents. They always want the best for their pups.”

I looked at her for a moment, the familiar pain creeping up from my stomach. “No, can’t say I do.”

She stared, eyes searching and the happy grin fell a bit. “Ah, sorry,” she said and started walking away. “But, come on. You two should meet them, yeah? They run one of the biggest farms of spice so we’ll be protecting some of their fields, I’m sure.”

“We will be, yes,” Cassie said as she came up beside us. “Did you bond with him when I wasn’t looking?”

“Not yet, but we’re in talks,” Amber said.

“Figured you’d be on him. Could smell the magic, right?”

Amber nodded, a grin forming on her lips. “It smells so good and there is a lot to go around.”

“I bet,” Cassie said and shook her head. “Just be careful. Brandi nearly took out the entire open field behind the shops when we tested them.”

Amber’s eyes got big. “No… that satur made the big light show everyone was talking about?”

“Stop calling me that,” Brandi said, her temper rising. I took a step back from the three girls just in case.

“What? Satur? But that’s what you are, right?”

“Just leave it alone and use her name,” I said. She seemed ready to argue but after a moment decided better of it.

“Well, glad to see you’re all making fast friends. You spoke to your parents?” Cassie asked as she eyed the group of older Wilkits. They were talking to Gaven.

Now that we were closer it was easier to make out who they were. There seemed to be a mix of Wilkits from cat to reptile. I had only read a bit about the Wilkits, as books on them were usually classified under the censorship program that the Cabal had instituted for the three lowest tiers of the city. The Wilkits watched us with curious, but guarded expressions. A few sent dirty looks our way, but they semed mostly for Amber.

“Of course, and they’re happier than most others that we’re here. They got lodgings figured out for most of us, but I’d like to stay with them. To just… keep things running smoothly.”

“And these two?” Cassie asked, pointing to Brandi and I.

“They can stay with me. They’re the newest memebers of the group, right? Best they stick with someone expereinced with the area.”

“So you’re the one that asked for permission from Lorelei to bond with him? She wouldn’t tell me who, just that he was approved to bond with a witch if he wanted.”

“Shh, it’ll be fine,” Amber said, her smile wide.

Cassie shook her head, obviously not seeing any point in arguing. “Fine. The meeting is after lunch in the town square.” She faced the group and repeated herself in a bit louder voice. “If you’re late you better either be bleeding out, dead, or fell into the abyss. Until then, get settled in the bunkhouse and the morning is yours.”

She turned back to us. “Same to you, make sure you’re not late.”

Amber gave a salute. “Don’t worry, I’ll whip these two in shape.”

“I don’t even want to know what you have planned…” Casie said and left to meet up with Gavin and the Wilkits. It felt like I had been thrown to the wolves with no other choice than to survive, somehow.